1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector soldered to a printed circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors are usually used for transmitting information between two printed circuit boards. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,116,247 and 6,338,630 disclose such connectors. Connectors disclosed by the two patents each comprise an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals received in the housing. The housing comprises a pair of sidewalls and a tongue located between the sidewalls. Each of the sidewalls defines a plurality of passageways. Each of the terminals comprises a contact portion, a retention portion, and a tail. The retention portion is received in the passageway, the contact portion is beside the tongue, and the tail extends beyond the housing.
The retention portion of the terminal of the connector disclosed by the above mentioned two US patents only restricts the terminal from moving along a lateral direction, which is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the housing. The terminals are arranged in the housing along the longitudinal direction and are soldered to corresponding traces in the printed circuit board along the longitudinal direction. As the retention portion does not restrict the terminal from moving along the longitudinal direction, the terminals will easily miss the very trace and solder to the wrong place, and this will influence the signal transmission between the connector and the printed circuit board.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.